LOOK: Paolo off the hook in House probe on ‘shabu’ smuggling. Trillanes Failed Again.

Presidential son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte found yesterday an ally in the House Committee on Dangerous Drugs after the panel decided not to include in its 52-page final report his alleged involvement in the P6.4-billion shabu smuggling.

The House panel, chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said private Customs broker Mark Taguba failed to substantiate his claim against the young Duterte, branding it as a “hearsay.”

“Kaya ini-emphasize namin diyan sa komiteng yan na hindi kami nag-e-entertain ng tsismis. Kami ay nakatutok sa usapin ng droga. We do not entertain hearsay. And we do not give way to testimonies that are hearsay and bunga ng isang tsismis kaya hindi namin yan pinapansin. (We emphasize that the committee will not entertain rumors. We are focused on the drug issues. We do not entertain hearsay. And we do not give way to testimonies that are hearsay and are just rumors, we will just ignore them),” Barbers said in a radio interview.

During congressional inquiries, Taguba repeatedly tagged Duterte as involved with a certain Davao Group, which was supposedly involved in illegal activities at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Taguba said he never transacted with Duterte, only with his alleged middlemen.

President Duterte had rushed in defense of his son, saying that Paolo was only engaged in selling “ukay-ukay.”

Barbers said there is no stopping them from passing their panel report recommending the filing of criminal and/or administrative complaints against former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and other BOC officials on Tuesday.

He expects that by next week, the committee report will be endorsed for plenary discussions and approval.